The perfect and productive day starts with a good breakfast, this is something that all of us know, and some succeed in living according to this idea.

What a good breakfast is different for different people, even those who live in the same country, not to mention those who live in other, where cultural differences make their own twist on “good breakfast.”

For some, good and strong breakfast is the one that includes eggs and bacon, some black coffee, and fresh juice, orange maybe.

Someone else skips breakfast and eats smoothie. For others, it is porridge with some fruits on top, and for someone else, it is whole wheat bread toast with avocado spread on top.

Maybe we can all agree that diversity is the basis of every nutritious meal, including breakfast. When it comes to the most important meal of the day, it is recommended that you choose a variety of whole-grain cereals as a good choice.

In this way, your diet is enriched with additional nutrients – carbohydrates and vegetable proteins, vitamins, and minerals contained in the membrane of the grain. Of course, you must choose wisely what kind you will eat.

The easiest breakfast that requites zero effort is precisely cereals – on the market, there are hundreds of kinds for every taste, and if you take a look at your pantry, for sure, there is a box or two. You just have to put the milk of your choice in them, and you can have your first meal of the day, as well as your family, there is no baking or cooking.

Companies that make them are trying to put on the market as healthier versions as possible, but it not always possible because it is the product that should stay in the box for a long time, tasting fresh after the box is open, not losing its vitamins and minerals.

Those companies are also aware that they have to indulge one major group of consumers, which becomes bigger and bigger every day – vegans. They are the group that is very influential, and their impact does not come just from the choices of food, but their firm beliefs and ethical principles.

What cereals are suitable for them, and are Cocoa Puffs among them?

Read here.

Grained breakfast cereal with the taste of chocolate

The manufacturer “General Mills” started making Cocoa Puffs cereal in the early 50s; they are, in fact, Kix cereal that has an addition of cocoa so that they can taste like chocolate.

They are sold worldwide – from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. On the market, there can be found numerous alternatives from other brands.

The mascot of Cocoa Puffs is Sonny the Cuckoo Bird that has been in multiple commercials and campaigns since the 60s, and its appeal is adored by kids that are the main consumers of this brand of cereals.

The cocoa that has been used is the most quality one -Hershey’s cocoa.

The company that makes them stated at the end of 2009 that they will cut the sugar in Cocoa Puffs, along with some other kinds, so that there are less than ten grams per portion.

In the market, you can buy Cocoa Puffs cereal bar with added the bottom layer of sweet milk (condensed), so it represents the milk in the bowl. Not suitable for vegans, of course.

You can buy Cocoa Puffs Combos – in the box, and there are not just black Puffs, but also white ones that are made out of vanilla.

Our task today is to determine can vegans consume Cocoa Puffs?

Ingredients

Let us take a good look at the list of ingredients in Cocoa Puffs to explore there is an element that is not vegan.

First, we find whole-grain corn, cornmeal, sugar, salt, cocoa, fructose (Fructose and partly glucose found in fruits are an integral part of sucrose, the white sugar that we meet every day and is used everywhere), canola oil, baking soda, caramel color, and refiner’s syrup.

There is also natural flavor along with the vitamins and minerals. They are calcium carbonate, zinc, tricalcium phosphate, and iron, along with folic acid, vitamins C, B6, B2, B1, A, B12, and D3.

The majority of ingredients in this list are vegan, and two problems may be sugar and Vitamin D. Once again, it does not mean that all vegans will bother these two elements, but some will certainly.

Are Cocoa Puffs Vegan? 

So the two major problems that some vegans have with Cocoa Puffs are sugar and vitamin D – you already know that some white sugar is not vegan, and this is mostly in North America. There is become whiter using the burnt cattle bones. Most cereal companies do use this kind of sugar, and every vegan for himself must determine does he or she have a problem with it.

Another issue is Vitamin D3 that is most commonly added to food, cereals especially, and it comes from an animal origin, sheep’s wool, it is the most quality lanolin. This product is often used, both in cosmetics, it is a natural fat that protects the sheep’s wool.

This vitamin is infrequently vegan, but in some mass production like the production of cereals, you cannot expect that the manufacturer will choose the more expensive version.

But we must add one more thing – in the case of cereals, the amount of Vitamin D, and indirectly the amount of “animal product” in them is extremely small, so we can understand why some vegans do not have any problem in consuming it.

Are Cocoa Puffs Healthy? 

Ruling from the component list, it’s obvious that this cereal isn’t the best option when we talk about the health area, and rarely any cereal on the market can substitute your homemade oatmeal with some fruit.

Speaking of fruit, in Cocoa Puffs, there is fructose that is fruit sugar. We already know that sugar from all industrial products, pasta, chocolates, biscuits, and fruit juices is number one on the avoid list.

However, attention is still less drawn to fruit sugar. First, due to the fact that with the necessary sugar being the main mischief, we get a handful of the necessary vitamins, fibers, and antioxidants on the other side.

But sugar is sugar, and whether it’s from a chocolate bar or a banana, both can equally be potentially damaging to the line and amount of fat.

This is critical because if you have an intention to be vegan not just this month, but also in the next years, maybe even a lifetime, it’s really necessary to do it so that the accent is on your health. It is not uncommon for people to give up their vegan diet because they did not feel healthy.

Recently, breakfast cereal consumption research has increasingly focused on the positive impact that concentration and cognitive abilities have on children and adolescents in the context of better memory and improved attention in school.

This is explained by the fact that whole grain cereals for breakfast give optimal blood glucose levels, as it is one of the best sources of readily available energy.

The good news is that you can find here vitamins and minerals, but nutrition experts say that there is no substitute for taking them in their natural form vegetables and fruits when eaten fresh.

There is no doubt that fresh vegetables and fruits are more abundant in minerals and vitamins than any prepackaged food, including cereals.

Also, it is a known fact that some vitamins disintegrate as time passes, and its nutritive value is getting lower when you cook them.

In the end, you must always have in mind that your body cannot live only on minerals and vitamins, from whatever source they come; it needs proteins and fats, and carbohydrates also. Choose the options that are healthier.

Summary

So the easers answer is – what is comfortable for you will determine you can eat Cocoa puffs if you do not have any problem with sugar consumption and Vitamin D, then you can enjoy these chocolate puffs in some vegan milk, like almond.

It is in some way like a gray area – there are no elements that are labeled that come from animal sources, it only comes in this indirect way.

If you are not comfortable in eating them, knowing that there is a small amount of Vitamin D and sugar that can be potentially made out of bone char to make it whiter, then avoid this brand.

Buy some brand that does not have any added vitamin D. For example, in Whole Food, and you can find one kind that is vegan cereal – Organic Peanut Butter and Cocoa Balls.

Perhaps the version that is in the Vitamin D comes from some other source and not an animal, there are such options, although it is hard to know that especially when such a large company is in question, they are using most common and accessible sources for their products.

Vegans say that you should avoid food that does not feel you comfortable, do not become obsessive about food, and in the end, the idea that is behind the veganism about sending the message to large companies not to use animal products is not best seen in the cereals.

In any case, stay away from meat, eggs, fish, dairy, milk, and as far as Cocoa Puffs goes, you decide what is comfortable for you, and do it in that manner.

In any case, the market is wide, and the options are endless, choose another brand, or make your own homemade cocoa cereals.